The Singing Buddhist Nun

Born into a life of poverty and domestic violence in Kathmandu, Ani Choying took refuge at the age of 13 in a convent in the foothills of the Himalayas, eventually becoming a nun in the Vajrayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. While there, she learned to chant the Buddhist prayers with simple melodies and sing mantras with the help of her mentor and guru, the abbot, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche.

Ani Choying was discovered singing devotional prayers in the convent by the American musician Steve Tibbetts in 1994. Together they recorded two albums of meditative Buddhist chant and singing that quickly made her an international star.

Ani Choying Drolma now travels the world performing her melodic chants and modern spiritual songs while recording best-selling albums which she uses to fund her numerous humanitarian efforts. Nepal of course is the birthplace of the Buddha Shakyamuni, and Ani Choying’s music reflects her Buddhist outlook.

She’s released more than ten successful albums singing in Tibetan, Sanskrit and her native Nepali, has published an autobiography, Singing for Freedom, and over the years has established several charities to help young nuns gain an education and to provide medical facilities in Nepal, including the Arya Tara school just outside Kathmandu.

Supporting Information

Track Title: Kyamdro SemkyeArtist: Ani Choying DrolmaComposer: Steve Tibbetts, Choying DrolmaCD Title: ChoRecord Co/ Number: Hannibal/ Rykodisc HNCD 1404Duration: 3.28Homepage:www.choying.comTaking refuge in the Bodhicitta prayer, 'Kyamdro Semkye'. A Tibetan-language track from her debut 1997 album Cho, with Minnesota guitarist and producer Steve Tibbetts working his magic with the soundscape there.She was discovered singing devotional prayers in the convent by Steve in 1994. Together they recorded two albums of meditative Buddhist chant and singing that quickly made her an international star. Ani Choying now travels the world performing her modern spiritual songs. Nepal of course is the birthplace of the Buddha Shakyamuni, and Ani Choying’s music reflects her Buddhist outlook.

Track Title: Kangyi TengiArtist: Ani Choying DrolmaComposer: Steve Tibbetts, Choying DrolmaCD Title: ChoRecord Co/ Number: Hannibal/Rykodisc HNCD 1404Duration: 6.31Homepage:www.choying.comA supplication prayer to the Vajrayana lineage masters in Tibetan Buddhism. Released in 1997 Cho was an unexpected success and eventually took Ani Choying away from her monastic life in the Nagi Gompa nunnery. But not from Nepal where she still lives and works overseeing several charities including the Nuns Welfare Foundation and the Arya Tara school for young nuns which she started in 2000 just outside Kathmandu.

Track Title: Mandala OfferingArtist: Ani Choying DrolmaComposer: Steve Tibbetts, Choying Drolma, Marc AndersonCD Title: SelwaRecord Co/ Number: Six Degrees Records 657036 1104-2Duration: 6.24Homepage:www.choying.comMany of Ani la's songs use traditional chants to invoke Buddhist deities but as she told me, these are not external beings so much as positive qualities that Buddhists seek to bring to their own minds through meditation. In fact, her debut best-selling album took its title from a tantric Buddhist practice of intense meditation and visualistion, Cho. The title to Selwa is a Tibetan word meaning luminosity or clarity. As a young girl, Ani Choying was beaten by her father, and to survive she took refuge in a Buddhist convent, Nagi Gompa, where she learned to sing the meditative spiritual songs that have made her famous.

Track Title: Phool kina PhoolchhaArtist: Ani Choying DrolmaComposer: Nhyoo BajracharyaCD Title: SmileRecord Co/ Number: Music Nepal MNCD 296Duration: 3.30Homepage:www.choying.com Proving that it’s not all incense and ritual, Ani Choying Drolma singing in her native language Nepali, from her 2005 album Smile recorded in Kathmandu where she founded the Arya Tara school for young nuns in 2000 and the Nuns Welfare Foundation of Nepal. Ani Choying, (ani means nun by the way), is famous in her homeland Nepal where she was crowned best female singer in 2006 and she’s a rising star around the world, quite possibly the first ever Buddhist nun to release a best-selling CD.

Track Title: Invocation to the Lotus-Born MasterArtist: Ani Choying DrolmaComposer: Nhyoo BajracharyaCD Title: Inner Peace 2Record Co/ Number: SAC Music International SMI CD 1051Duration: 13.35Homepage:www.choying.comA prayer for compassion from Ani Choying’s recent album Inner Peace 2, an Invocation to the Lotus Born master, the Guru Padmasambhava considered by Tibetans to be a second Buddha, an historical figure who carried Buddhist teachings from India to the Himalayas in the 8th century.

Guests

Ani Choying Drolma

Born into a life of poverty and violence in Kathmandu, Ani Choying took refuge at the age of 13 in a convent in the foothills of the Himalayas where she learned to sing and chant using simple melodies. Ani Choying now travels the world performing her modern spiritual songs and melodic Buddhist chant, while recording best-selling albums which she uses to fund her numerous humanitarian efforts.